Day 103 July 23rd Torshavn, Faroe Islands
Day two in Torshavn was a day for the arts. Near-by I had seen a park dotted with sculptures and stumbled upon the Listasavn Føroya gallery as I walked yesterday. I had also read of a free concert at the Nordic Centre in the afternoon. Day set.
The Listasavn Føroya was on the edge of the forested park near my ‘Torshavn home’. The paths twist and turn through the forest, alongside rivers, past houses. The sun was not as evident today and the sky look thunderously grey but did nothing more for the day.
Listasavn Føroya a small but wonderful gallery of mainly Faroese art. The windows of the gallery look out to the forested park surrounding it with sculptures visible from many windows. Staff were helpful and explained the exhibitions, apologising for the transitional state of the temporary exhibition. There was more than enough in the historical display of Faroese art.
The Blue Deep was a thrilling installation inspired by a Faroese artist, Tróndur Patursson, one of the crew aboard an earlier bamboo boat expedition sailing from China to the USA The installation is built in a container with patterns cut out and shades of blue glass giving depth and height, feeling like being deep in an ocean.
The style and art represented a range of Some favourites of mine were Sigrun Gunnarsdottir and in particular a painting entitled The Book of Books. Vividly showing a life lived.
Home From the Funeral by Faroese artist Samal Joensen-Mykines – bleak, dire and dark – for me this evoked harsh and dangerous early life of the Faroese fisherman I had read about. It kept me coming back to it. And resonated with an Icelandic book I am reading (and loving) ‘Heaven and Hell’by Jón Kalman Stefánsson
The more well known ‘Colony” depicting Large Gannets wearing suit and tie by Edward Fuglo unusually the title is only in English. Following the leader. (see above)
A textile work by Astrid Andreasen was popular. Children stood intrigued by the series of small jumpers in many patterns linked.
Outside a sculpture in bronze kept me coming back to it featured two pregnant women and until I saw the title I was not feeling exactly good about it. Finally I read it was entitled “Reflection” by Hans Pauli Olsen– much more sense when I relooked.
Such a lovely feeling after so much wide outdoors to take time reflecting on art.
And it was not over. I had read about the Nordic Centre and wanted to visit – in my exploration I discovered a free afternoon concert. Today a wonderful British Violinist – Rupert Marshall-Luck. A beautiful and challenging musical hour with compositions by Faroese composers.
While waiting for the concert I visited the exhibition entitled WATER where artists from many Nordic countries had contributed. All visual art forms were included and a number of pieces were A-V displays. All looked at some aspect of water and ocean – the beauty, the destruction, change, pollution.
I do question myself about photographing art but I so wanted to keep the memories. They are deliberately left looking like photographs taken of art – it just felt better.
